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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since 1994, they have played in Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field). The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona.[1] Since their establishment in 1901, the Indians have won two World Series championships, in 1920 and 1948.

The "Indians" name originates from a request by the club owner to decide a new name, following the 1914 season. In reference to the Boston Braves (now the Atlanta Braves), the media chose "the Indians". They are nicknamed "the Tribe" and "the Wahoos". The latter is a reference to the mascot which appears in the team's logos, Chief Wahoo. The team also has an on field mascot named "Slider".

One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Cleveland in 1901. The team actually began play in 1900 as the Lake Shores, when the AL was officially a minor league. Then called the Cleveland Blues, the team played in League Park until moving permanently to Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1946. At the end of the 2008 season, they had a regular season franchise record of 8,557–8,178 (.511). The Indians' most recent postseason visit came in 2007, when they won their seventh AL Central title, the most in the division.

[1] - In 1994, a players' strike wiped out the last eight weeks of the season and all post-season. Cleveland was one game out of first place in the Central Division behind Chicago when play was stopped. No official titles were awarded in 1994.